System and method for controlling disclosure time of information

ABSTRACT

A key managing system for implementing simultaneous disclosure of information. The invention includes an information transmitting apparatus which transmits a date and time at which secrecy protection of information is ended to a key controlling apparatus. The key controlling apparatus searches a key control table indicating a relation between decryption keys and decryption key disclosure dates &amp; times for an encryption key that forms a pair in conjunction with a decryption key associated with the date &amp; time transmitted by the information transmitting apparatus. The key controlling apparatus then transmits an encryption key found in the search to the information transmitting apparatus. The key controlling apparatus also discloses a decryption key for the present date &amp; time to an information receiving apparatus in response to a request for a decryption key at a present date and time. The information transmitting apparatus, upon receipt of the encryption key, encrypts information by using the encryption key and then transmits the encrypted information to the information receiving apparatus. The date and time, at which secrecy protection of information is ended is appended to the encrypted information. The information receiving apparatus, upon the present date and time becoming coincident with the date and time appended to the received encrypted information, acquires a disclosed decryption key and decrypts the encrypted information by using the decryption key.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for controlling decryptionkeys used for decrypting encrypted data. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a system for controlling decryption keys used fordecrypting encrypted data in a manner to permit disclosure ofinformation to a plurality of users on a communication network at thesame time.

In recent years, information can be readily exchanged among a pluralityof terminals by way of a communication network such as the Internet.Among data to be exchanged, there is a kind of information with aproperty which requires that the information be kept secret up to apredetermined time at a predetermined date but be set free fordisclosure afterward. An example of such information is confidentialdata of the government. In addition, such information is to be disclosedto a plurality of users after the predetermined time at thepredetermined date. In other words, there must be an assurance thatinformation can be put in a state that allows a plurality of users toknow the most essential part of the information. An example ofinformation with such a property is information on a transaction such asa tender or an offer.

For such information, there has been provided a conventional methodwhereby information produced at a terminal of an information producer iskept at the terminal up to a date or a time of a date at whichprotection of the confidentiality of the information is ended. It is notuntil the termination of the confidentiality protection is ended, thatis, the expiration of the time of the confidentiality protection, thatthe information is disclosed and distributed to a plurality of users.

With the method described above, however, it is not easy for aninformation producer to disclose or distribute information to aplurality of users at the same time with a high degree of reliability.Particularly if the amount of the information to be disclosed ordistributed is large or if there are a large number of users on thedistribution list.

In addition, the information producer has to control the date & time atwhich information is to be disclosed or distributed. In particular, ifthere are many kinds of information to be disclosed or distributed atthe same date & time, it will be difficult to assure that these piecesof information will be disclosed or distributed to a plurality of userssimultaneously.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention to provide a system for conductingdecryption keys used for decrypting encrypted data in a manner to permitsimultaneous disclosure of information to a plurality of users on anetwork.

The present invention provides a key arrangement system including aninformation encrypting apparatus for encrypting information by usingencryption keys, an information decrypting apparatus for decryptinginformation by using decryption keys, a key controlling apparatus forcontrolling the encryption keys and the decryption keys used in theinformation encrypting apparatus and the information decryptingapparatus respectively, and a communication network connected at leastbetween the information encrypting apparatus and the key controllingapparatus.

The key controlling apparatus includes a key storage for storing atleast a pair of the encryption and decryption keys, a key control tablestorage for storing a key control table illustrating a relation betweenthe decryption keys stored in the key storage and disclosure dates ordisclosure dates & times of the decryption keys, a key searchingapparatus for searching the key control table stored in the key controltable storage for one of the decryption keys associated with one of thedisclosure dates or disclosure dates & times specified by theinformation encrypting apparatus and one of the encryption keys forminga pair in conjunction with the decryption key, an encryption keytransmitting apparatus for transmitting the encryption key searched forby the key searching apparatus to the information encrypting apparatusthrough the communication network, and a decryption key disclosingapparatus for disclosing one of the decryption keys associated with thepresent date or the present date & time according to the relation shownby the key control table stored in the key control table storage.

The information encrypting apparatus includes a date/date & timeinformation transmitting apparatus for transmitting data representing adate or a date & time at which security protection of data to beencrypted will be ended to the key controlling apparatus through thecommunication network, an encryption key acquiring apparatus foracquiring one of the encryption keys which is transmitted by the keycontrolling apparatus through the communication network and forms a pairin conjunction with one of the decryption keys associated with adisclosure date or a disclosure date & time indicated by the data usedfor representing a disclosure date or a disclosure date & time andtransmitted by the date/date & time information transmitting apparatus,a data encrypting apparatus for encrypting data by using the encryptionkey acquired by the encryption key acquiring apparatus, and an encryptedinformation forming apparatus for forming encrypted information to betransmitted to the information decrypting apparatus by adding the datarepresenting a date or a date & time, at which secrecy protection of theencrypted data is to be ended, to the data encrypted by the dataencrypting apparatus.

The information decrypting apparatus includes encrypted informationacquiring apparatus for acquiring the encrypted information formed bythe information encrypting apparatus, a decryption key acquiringapparatus for acquiring one of the decryption keys disclosed by the keycontrolling apparatus at a disclosure date or a disclosure date & timeindicated by the data used for representing a disclosure date or adisclosure date & time and included in the encrypted informationacquired by the encrypted information acquiring apparatus, and aninformation decrypting apparatus for decrypting the encrypted dataincluded in the encrypted information acquired by the encryptedinformation acquiring apparatus by using the decryption key acquired bythe decryption key acquiring apparatus.

The encryption key and the decryption key are a disclosed key and asecret key respectively in a key based encryption system. In theconfiguration provided by the present invention as described above, theinformation producer is capable of encrypting information producedthereby using the encryption key. The encrypted information isdistributed to information users prior to a date or a date & time atwhich secrecy protection of the information is ended. It is thus nolonger necessary for the information producer to control the disclosuredate of information produced thereby.

It is not until a date or a date & time at which secrecy protection ofencrypted information received by the information user is ended that theinformation user is allowed to acquire a decryption key for decryptingthe encrypted information. As a result, the encrypted information can bekept secret until the date or the date & time at which the secrecyprotection of the encrypted information is ended.

In addition, since the information user is allowed to acquire adecryption key for decrypting encrypted information after a date andtime at which secrecy protection of the encrypted information receivedby the information user is ended, the information user is capable ofdecrypting the encrypted information received prior to the set date andtime by using the decryption key. As a result, if there are a pluralityof information users, disclosure of encrypted information at the sametime can be assured.

It should be noted that, according to the present invention, if thereare a plurality of information decrypting apparatuses, the informationdecrypting apparatuses are each connected to the key controllingapparatus through the communication network. In this case, thedecryption key disclosing apparatus employed in the key controllingapparatus is then capable of simultaneously transmitting a decryptionkey to the information decrypting apparatuses at the same time by way ofthe communication network as a broadcast packet or a multi-cast packet.As an alternative, the decryption key disclosing apparatus employed inthe key controlling apparatus may disclose a decryption key to theinformation decrypting apparatuses by adopting a radio broadcastingmethod. In this case, it is not necessary anymore to connect theinformation decrypting apparatuses to the key controlling apparatus byusing the communication network.

Further, according to the present invention, a decryption key associatedwith a disclosure date or a disclosure date and time specified by theinformation encrypting apparatus and transmitted to the key controllingapparatus may not exist in the key control table stored in the keycontrol table storage employed in the key controlling apparatus. Inorder to cope with such a case, the key control apparatus can be furtherprovided with a key generating apparatus for generating a new pair ofencryption and decryption keys, and a key control table creatingapparatus for associating the new pair of encryption and decryption keysgenerated by the key generating apparatus with the disclosure date andtime specified by the information encrypting apparatus and transmittedto the key controlling apparatus as well as for adding the new pair andthe disclosure date and time to the key control table.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The scope of the present invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, and such detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way ofillustration only, since various changes and modifications within thespirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilledin the art from this detailed description, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a keymanagement system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a key control tablestored in a magnetic disc of a key controlling apparatus;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the key controlling apparatus when an encryptionkey/decryption key controller program is executed;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart used for explaining operations which are carriedout when an encryption key/decryption key generating routine of theencryption key/decryption key controlling program is executed;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the key controlling apparatus when an encryption keyservice program is executed;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the key controlling apparatus upon a decryption keyservice program is executed;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the key controlling apparatus when a decryption keydistributing program is executed;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a chronological list ofdisclosure of decryption keys transmitted from the key controllingapparatus;

FIG. 9 is a diagram used for explaining a typical configuration ofencrypted information generated by an information transmitting apparatus60;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the information transmitting apparatus when aninformation encrypting program is executed;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the information transmitting apparatus when an encryptionkey acquiring program is executed;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in an information receiving apparatus when a file decryptingprogram is executed;

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining operations which arecarried out in the information receiving apparatus when a decryption keyacquiring program is executed;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a chronological list ofdisclosure of decryption keys transmitted from the key controllingapparatus using a plurality of channels; and

FIG. 15 is a diagram used for explaining a modified version of thepresent invention wherein a decryption key is disclosed to informationreceiving apparatuses using a radio broadcasting method such as thesatellite system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described belowreferring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a keycontrolling system as implemented by an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 50 and 60 denote a key controllingapparatus and an information transmitting apparatus respectively.Reference numeral 70 is an information receiving apparatus. The keycontrolling apparatus 50, the information transmitting apparatus 60 andthe information receiving apparatus 70 are connected to each other by acommunication network 90 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

It should be noted that, while only one information transmittingapparatus 60 and only one information receiving apparatus 70 are shownin FIG. 1, the scope of the present invention is not limited to such anexample. That is, a plurality of information transmitting apparatuses 60as well as a plurality of information receiving apparatuses 70 can beconnected to the communication network 90.

The key controlling apparatus 50, the information transmitting apparatus60 and the information receiving apparatus 70 illustrated in FIG. 1 areeach an information processing apparatus having a communicationfunction. Such an information processing apparatus can typically beimplemented by a PC (personal computer).

The key controlling apparatus 50 has a function of managing encryptionkeys used in information encryption processing and decryption keys usedin information decryption processing. This function is implemented byexecution of an encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21, anencryption key service program 22, a decryption key service program 23and a decryption key distributing program 24 which are loaded into amemory unit 2 a from a magnetic disc 5 a by a CPU 1 a by way of a disccontroller 4 a. It should be noted that, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 20a denotes an operating system (OS) while reference numeral 3 a denotes anetwork controller for implementing communication through thecommunication network 90. (The OS maybe of any type such as WINDOWS(registered) trademark of Microsoft Corp.).

In addition to the OS 20 a, the encryption key/decryption keycontrolling program 21, an encryption key service program 22, adecryption key service program 23 and a decryption key distributingprogram 24, at least a pair of encryption and decryption keys isrecorded in the magnetic disc 5 a. Each pair of encryption anddecryption keys is associated with a decryption key disclosure date or adecryption key disclosure date and time, at which the decryption key inthe pair is to be distributed, and a set of information comprising thepair and the decryption key disclosure date or the decryption keydisclosure date and time is recorded as an entry in a key control table100.

An example of the key control table 100 is illustrated in FIG. 2. Asshown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pairs recorded on the magnetic disc 5 aeach comprise an encryption key 102 and a decryption key 103 which areassociated with a decryption key disclosure date or a decryption keydisclosure date and time 101 at which the decryption key 103 in the pairis to be distributed.

Here, the encryption key 102 and the decryption key 103 are a disclosedkey and a secret key respectively in a disclosed key based encryptionsystem. A disclosed key and a secret key in a disclosed key basedencryption system have properties that it is very difficult to find adisclosed key of the disclosed key based encryption system from a secretkey thereof and, by the same token, it is also very difficult to find asecret key of the disclosed key based encryption system from a disclosedkey thereof. For this reason, in the disclosed key based encryptionsystem, instead of being kept secret, a disclosed key for encryptinginformation is disclosed and only a secret key is kept confidential.That is, any user is capable of acquiring a disclosed key which isdisclosed and encrypting information using the disclosed key. However,it is only a user owning a secret key forming a pair in conjunction witha disclosed key used for encrypting information who is capable ofdecrypting the encrypted information. As a result, secrecy ofinformation transmitted through the communication network can beprotected.

A disclosed key and a secret key in a disclosed key based encryptionsystem are implemented by using a one directional function by which, inspite of the fact that it is easy to derive a result from an initialvalue, it is very difficult to find an initial value from a result. Thefollowing is a simple explanation of a so-called RSA (Rivest, Shamir andAdleman) system, a system used widely at the present time.

First of all, two large prime numbers p and q are provided. Then, aproduct n of the prime numbers p and q is computed. Euler's function ofn is defined as follows:

φ(n)=(p−1)×(q−1)

Subsequently, a number e that mutually appears as a prime number withrespect to Euler's function of n is selected. Let d be the reciprocal ofthe number e with respect to the 2 modulo of φ (n), Euler's function ofn. Thus, the reciprocal d can be found from a relation equating theproduct ed with the modulo of Euler's function of φ (n) given asfollows:

ed=1×modφ(n).

Then, by using the quantities e, d and n defined above, a decryptedvalue (that is, an original value) M and an encrypted value C can beproven to satisfy the following equations:

C=(M^(e))mod n

M=(C^(d))mod n

As a result, the reciprocal d can be used as a secret key while a pairof e and n can be used as a disclosed key. A symbol e denoted byreference numeral 112 and a symbol n denoted by reference numeral 122shown in FIG. 2 are the number e and the product n used in the aboveequations respectively. Further, a symbol d denoted by reference number132 illustrating in FIG. 2 is the reciprocal d used in the aboveequations.

The disclosed key based encryption system is described in detail indocuments such as “A Study of Data Protection and Encryption,” by ShinIchimatsu Nihon Keizai Shinbun 1983.

The information transmitting apparatus 60 has a function of encryptinginformation. The information encrypting function is implemented by a CPU1 b through execution of an encryption key acquiring program 31 and afile encrypting program 32 which are loaded from a magnetic disc 5 binto a memory unit 2 b by way of a disc controller 4 b. It should benoted that, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 b denotes an operatingsystem (OS) while reference numeral 3 b denotes a network controller forimplementing communication through the communication network 90. (The OSmaybe of any type such as WINDOWS (registered) trademark of MicrosoftCorp.).

The information receiving apparatus 70 has a function of decryptinginformation. The information decrypting function is implemented by a CPU1 c through execution of a decryption key acquiring program 41 and afile decrypting program 42 which are loaded from a magnetic disc 5 cinto a memory unit 2 c by way of a disc controller 4 c. In FIG. 1,reference numeral 20 c denotes an operating system (OS) while referencenumeral 3 c denotes a network controller for implementing communicationthrough the communication network 90. (The OS maybe of any type such asWINDOWS (registered) trademark of Microsoft Corp.). Each of theabove-described programs can be implemented in any number of differentprogramming language such as C++, JAVA, BASIK, etc.

The operation of the key managing system with a configuration describedabove is explained briefly as follows.

First, the information transmitting apparatus 60 transmits informationon a decryption key disclosure date or a decryption key disclosure dateand time, at which the secrecy protection of information to be encryptedwill be ended, to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way of thecommunication network 90.

Receiving the information from the information transmitting apparatus60, the key controlling apparatus 50 searches the key control table 100stored on the magnetic disc 5 a for an encryption key associated with adecryption key disclosure date or a decryption key disclosure date andtime indicated by the information. The key controlling apparatus 50 thentransmits the encryption key to the information transmitting apparatus60 by way of the communication network 90.

The key controlling apparatus 50 also has a function to read out adecryption key associated with the present date or the present date andtime from the key control table 100 stored on the magnetic disc 5 a anddisclose the decryption key to the information receiving apparatus 70.By executing this function, the key controlling apparatus 50sequentially reads out and discloses decryption keys one after anotheras time goes by.

The information transmitting apparatus 60 encrypts data to betransmitted to the information receiving apparatus 70 by using theencryption key received from the key controlling apparatus 50. Then,information on the date or the date and time at which the secrecyprotection of the encrypted information is to be ended is added to theencrypted data to form encrypted information before transmitting theencrypted information to the information receiving apparatus 70 by wayof the communication network 90.

Receiving the encrypted information from the information transmittingapparatus 60, the information receiving apparatus 70 waits until thecurrent date or the current date and time becomes coincident with thedate or the date and time indicated by the information included in theencrypted information. As the current date or the current date and timebecomes coincident with the date or the date and time indicated by theinformation included in the encrypted information, the informationreceiving apparatus 70 acquires a decryption key disclosed by the keycontrolling apparatus 50. Then, the encrypted data received from theinformation transmitting apparatus 60 is decrypted by using thedecryption key acquired from the key controlling apparatus 50.

Next, the configuration of each of the key controlling apparatus 50, theinformation transmitting apparatus 60 and the information receivingapparatus 70 included in the key managing system implemented by thepresent embodiment is described in detail as follows.

First, the key controlling apparatus 50 is explained in detail below.

The explanation begins with description of operations which are carriedout in the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 a executes theencryption key/decryption key controlling program 21 loaded into thememory unit 2 a.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 aexecutes the encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21 loadedinto the memory unit 2 a.

First, equipment such as a display unit not shown in the figures is usedfor displaying a message to urge the operator of the key controllingapparatus 50 that information for identifying a key to be added to thekey control table 100 be entered. The information includes a start dateand time, an end date and time and a time interval. In response to themessage, the operator enters a start date and time, an end date and timeand a time interval via an input unit also not shown in the figureswhich are then input by the key controlling apparatus 50 at steps 601,602 and 603 respectively.

The flow of the program 21 then goes on to a step 604 to call anencryption key/decryption key generating routine for generating a pairof encryption keys (e and n) and a decryption key (d). More informationon the encryption key/decryption key generating routine will bedescribed later.

Then, the flow of the program 21 proceeds to a step 605 at which a dateand time is added to a date and time column of the key control table100. When processing of the step 605 of this flowchart shown in FIG. 3is carried out for the first time, the date and time input at the step601 is used as a date and time to be added to the key control table 100.In the case of processing carried out at the step 605 for the second andsubsequent times, however, a date and time calculated at a step 609 aswill be described later is used as a date and time to be added to thekey control table 100.

Subsequently, the flow of the program 21 continues to a step 606 atwhich the pair of encryption keys (e and n) generated at the step 604 isadded to an encryption key column of the key control table 100 on thesame line as the date and time added to the key control table 100 at thestep 605.

The flow of the program 21 then goes on to a step 607 at which thedecryption key (d) generated at the step 604 along with the encryptionkey are added to a decryption key column of the key control table 100 onthe same line as the date and time added to the key control table 100 atthe step 605.

Then, the flow of the program 21 goes on to a step 608 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the date and time added to the key controltable 100 at the step 605 is coincident with or later than the end dateand time received at the step 602. If the date and time added to the keycontrol table 100 at the step 605 is earlier than the end date and timereceived at the step 602, the flow of the program 21 continues to a step609 at which the time interval received at the step 603 is added to thedate and time added to the key control table 100 at the step 605 toproduce a new date and time to be added to the key control table 100 inthe next iteration.

If the date and time added to the key control table at the step 605 islater than or coincident with the end date and time received at the step602, on the other hand, the processing flow of the encryptionkey/decryption key controlling program 21 is terminated.

By executing the encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21 inaccordance with the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, the CPU 1 a iscapable of creating the key control table 100 such as one illustrated inFIG. 2 for associating a disclosed key (that is, an encryption key) anda decryption key with a date and time at which the decryption key is tobe disclosed.

The following is description of the encryption key/decryption keygenerating routine 700 which is executed for carrying out the processingof the step 604 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart used for explaining operations which are carriedout when the encryption key/decryption key generating routine 700 of theencryption key/decryption key controlling program 21 loaded into thememory unit 2 a is executed by the CPU 1 a employed in the keycontrolling apparatus 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the flowchart begins with a step 701 at whichtwo large prime numbers p and q are generated. Then, the flow of theroutine 700 goes on to a step 702 at which a product n of the primenumbers p and q is computed (n=p×q). Subsequently, the flow proceeds toa step 703 at which a number e that mutually appears as a prime numberwith respect to Euler's function of n is selected. It should be notedthat Euler's function of n is defined as follows:

φ(n)=(p−1)×(q−1)

The flow of the routine 700 then continues to a step 704 to find d, thereciprocal of e with respect to the modulo of φ (n), Euler's function ofn. At the step 704, the reciprocal d can be found from a relationequating the product with the modulo of Euler's function of n given asfollows:

ed=1×modφ(n)

Then, the flow of the routine 700 goes on to a step 705 at which thevalues of n, e and d obtained at the steps 702, 703 and 704 respectivelyare set as return values to be passed to the encryption key/decryptionkey controlling program 21. The flow of the routine 700 then proceeds toa step 799 at which the control of execution is returned to the callingencryption key/decryption key controlling program 21.

The following is a description of the operations which are carried outin the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 a executes theencryption key service program 22 loaded into the memory unit 2 a.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 aexecutes the encryption key service program 22 loaded into the memoryunit 2 a. It should be noted that the encryption key service program 22is executed as a resident program in the key controlling apparatus 50.

As shown in FIG. 5, the program 22 begins with a step 801 to wait for arequest for an encryption key to be transmitted by the informationtransmitting apparatus 60 to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way ofthe communication network 90. As the request for an encryption keyarrives, the flow of the program 22 goes on to a step 802 at whichinformation on a date and time is extracted from the request.

Then, the flow of the program 22 proceeds to a step 803 to examinewhether or not the date and time indicated by the information extractedfrom the request has been cataloged in the key control table 100 storedon the magnetic disc 5 a. If the date and time indicated by theinformation extracted from the request has not been cataloged in the keycontrol table 100, the flow of the program 22 continues to a step 804 atwhich the encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21 iscalled. When the encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21shown in FIG. 3 is executed, the date and time indicated by theinformation extracted from the request at the step 802 is used as astart date and time and an end date and time which are normally input atthe steps 601 and 602 of the flowchart of the encryption key/decryptionkey controlling program 21 shown in FIG. 3. As for the time intervalwhich is normally input at the step 603, a proper value is used. Byexecution of the encryption key/decryption key controlling program 21,the date and time as well as an encryption key and a decryption key canbe added to the key control table 100. Upon the completion of theprocessing carried out at the step 804, the flow of the program 22 goeson to a step 805.

If the date and time indicated by the information extracted from therequest at the step 802 is found cataloged in the key control table 100at the step 803, on the other hand, the flow of the program 22 proceedsdirectly to the step 805, skipping the step 804.

At the step 805, an encryption key associated with the date and timeindicated by the information extracted from the request for anencryption key at the step 802 is fetched from the key control table100. Then, the flow of the program 22 goes on to a step 806 at which theencryption key fetched from the key control table 100 is transmitted tothe originator of the request for the encryption key. When the aboveprocessing is completed, the flow of the program 22 returns to the step801 to again wait for a request for an encryption key to be transmittedby the information transmitting apparatus 60 to the key controllingapparatus 50 by way of the communication network 90.

The following is description of operations which are carried out in thekey controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 a executes the decryptionkey service program 23 loaded into the memory unit 2 a.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 aexecutes the decryption key service program 23 loaded into the memoryunit 2 a. It should be noted that the decryption key service program 23is executed as a resident program in the key controlling apparatus 50.

As shown in FIG. 6, the program 23 begins with a step 901 to wait for arequest for an decryption key to be transmitted by the informationreceiving apparatus 70 to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way of thecommunication network 90. As the request for a decryption key arrives,the flow of the program 23 goes on to a step 902 at which information ona date and time is extracted from the request.

Then, the flow of the program 23 proceeds to a step 903 to examinewhether or not the date and time indicated by the information extractedfrom the request has been cataloged in the key control table 100 storedon the magnetic disc 5 a. If the date and time indicated by theinformation extracted from the request has not been cataloged in the keycontrol table 100, the flow of the program 22 continues to a step 906 atwhich an error code is transmitted to the originator of the request fora decryption key as a response to the request. Then, the flow of theprogram 23 returns to the step 901 to again wait for a request for adecryption key to be transmitted by the information receiving apparatus70 to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way of the communicationnetwork 90.

If the date and time indicated by the information extracted from therequest is found cataloged in the key control table 100 at the step 903,the flow of the program 23 proceeds to a step 904. At the step 904, adecryption key associated with the date and time indicated by theinformation extracted from the request for a decryption key at the step902 is fetched from the key control table 100. Then, the flow of theprogram 23 goes on to a step 905 at which the decryption key fetchedfrom the key control table 100 is transmitted to the originator of therequest for the decryption key. When the above processing is completed,the flow of the program 23 returns to the step 901 to again wait for arequest for a decryption key to be transmitted by the informationreceiving apparatus 70 to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way of thecommunication network 90.

The following is description of operations which are carried out in thekey controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 a executes the decryptionkey distributing program 24 loaded into the memory unit 2 a.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the key controlling apparatus 50 when the CPU 1 aexecutes the decryption key distributing program 24 loaded into thememory unit 2 a. The decryption key distributing program 24 is executedas a resident program in the key controlling apparatus 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the program 24 begins with a step 1001 atwhich the current date and time is acquired by using a function of theOS 20 a. Then, the flow of the program 24 goes on to a step 1002 atwhich a decryption key associated with the current date and timeacquired at the step 901 is fetched from the key control table 100. Ifthe current date and time acquired at the step 1001 is not cataloged inthe key control table 100, a decryption key associated with a date andtime prior to the present date and time is fetched from the key controltable 100.

The flow of the program 24 then proceeds to a step 103 at which an entryimmediately following the entry fetched at the step 1002 is fetched fromthe key control table 100. The flow of the program 24 then continues toa step 1004 to form a judgment as to whether or not the current date andtime acquired by using the function of the OS 20 a at the step 1001 iscoincident with or later than a date and time included in the entryfetched at the step 1003.

If the current date and time acquired at the step 1001 is neithercoincident with nor later than the date and time included in the entryfetched at the step 1003, the flow of the program 24 goes on to a step1005 at which the decryption key fetched at the step 1002 andinformation on a date and time associated with the decryption key in thekey control table 100 are transmitted at the same time to theinformation receiving apparatus 70 by way of the communication network90. If there are a plurality of information receiving apparatuses 70connected to the communication network 90, the decryption key andinformation on a date and time associated with the decryption key aretransmitted to all the information receiving apparatuses 70 bysimultaneous broadcasting communication which can be implemented by useof a broadcast packet or a multi-cast packet used in a communicationsystem using a communication network. In the case of a broadcast packet,addresses of a plurality of transmission destinations are included inthe header of the packet. In the case of a multi-cast packet, the headerof the packet includes an address illustrating a plurality oftransmission destinations.

When the processing carried out at the step 1005 has been completed, theflow of the program 24 goes on to a step 1006 at which a new currentdate and time is acquired by using a function of the OS 20 a. This isbecause the current date and time acquired at the step 1001 may havebecome obsolete. The flow of the program 24 then returns to the step1004.

If the outcome of the judgment formed at the step 1004 indicates thatthe current date and time acquired at the step 1001 is coincident withor later than the date and time included in the entry fetched at thestep 1003, the flow of the program 24 returns to the step 1002 at whicha decryption key associated this time with the date and time included inthe entry fetched at the step 1003 is fetched from the key control table100.

By iterating the loop comprising the steps 1004 to 1006 of the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 7, decryption keys cataloged in the key controltable 100 are sequentially transmitted to information receivingapparatuses 70 through simultaneous broadcasting communication at thestep 1005 at a rate of one key per iteration until, at the step 1004,the date and time fetched from the key control table 100 is foundearlier than the current date and time acquired most recently acquiredat the step 1006 in which case the flow of the program 24 departs fromthe loop, going on to the step 1002. An example of a chronological listof disclosure of decryption keys transmitted from the key controllingapparatus 50 by the loop is illustrated in FIG. 8.

Next, the information transmitting apparatus 60 is described in detail.

The description of the information transmitting apparatus 60 begins withan explanation of the configuration of encrypted information generatedby the information transmitting apparatus 60.

FIG. 9 is a diagram used for explaining a typical configuration ofencrypted information generated by the information transmittingapparatus 60. It should be noted that, while information to be encryptedcan be any information as long as the information is data handled inelectronic equipment such as contents of a database or an electronicmail, in the following description, information encrypted in file unitsis taken as an example.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 202 denotes an encrypted text file forstoring data after encryption. The encrypted data stored in theencrypted text file 202 comprises encrypted text data 204, that is, dataresulting from encryption of an original text file, and a header 205added to the encrypted text data 204.

The header 205 comprises an allowed decryption date 206, a file name207, a file size 208 and a double encrypted data key 209. The alloweddecryption date 206 is information indicating a date at which theencrypted text data 204 can be decrypted, that is, a date at which thesecrecy protection of the encrypted text data is ended. The file name207 is the name of an original text file serving as the source of theencrypted text data 204. The file size 208 is the size of the originaltext file. The double encrypted data key 209 is data resulting fromencryption of a data key and is used in the encryption of this originaltext file. In the encryption of the data key, an encryption key acquiredfrom the key controlling apparatus 50 and an individual encryption keyto be described later are used.

It is obvious from the typical configuration of encrypted informationshown in FIG. 9 that, in the present embodiment, an original text fileis not encrypted directly by using an encryption key acquired from thekey controlling apparatus 50, but an original text file is encrypted bya key used in a symmetrical key based encryption system. To be morespecific, in a symmetrical key based encryption system, an original textfile is encrypted by a data key which is used as a key common to bothencryption and decryption. The encryption key obtained from the keycontrolling apparatus 50 itself is used for encrypting the data keywhich is used in the encryption of the original text file.

The following is a description of operations which are carried out inthe information transmitting apparatus 60 when the CPU 1 b executes thefile encrypting program 32 loaded into the memory unit 2 b. FIG. 10illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations which arecarried out in the information transmitting apparatus 60 when the CPU 1b executes the information encrypting program 32 loaded into the memoryunit 2 b.

First, equipment such as a display unit not shown in the figures is usedfor displaying a message to urge the user of the informationtransmitting apparatus 60 that the user enter the name of a filecontaining an original text to be encrypted and a date and time at whichan encrypted text file resulting from the encryption of the originaltext file can be decrypted. A file name and a date and time entered bythe user via an input unit also not shown in the figure in response tothe message are input at steps 1101 and 1102 of the flowchart shown inFIG. 10 respectively.

The flow of the program 32 then goes on to a step 1103 at which a fileidentified by the file name input at the step 1101 is opened. Then, theflow of the program 32 proceeds to a step 1104 at which a temporary filewith a tentative file name is created.

Subsequently, the flow of the program 32 continues to a step 1105 atwhich a random number is generated to serve as a data key. The flow ofthe program 32 then goes on to a step 1106 at which the encryption keyacquiring program 31 is executed. The encryption key acquiring program31 acquires an encryption key, which forms a pair in conjunction with adecryption key to be disclosed at the date and time input at the step1102, from the key controlling apparatus 50.

Then, the flow of the program 32 proceeds to a step 1107 at which thedata key generated at the step 1105 is encrypted by using the encryptionkey acquired from the key controlling apparatus 50 at the step 1106 toproduce an encrypted data key. Subsequently, equipment such as a displayunit not shown in the figures is used for displaying a message to urgethe user of the information transmitting apparatus 60 that an individualencryption key be entered. The individual encryption key will be usedfor double encrypting the encrypted data key produced at the step 1107.As an individual encryption key is entered by the user via an input unitalso not shown in the figure in response to the message, the flow of theprogram 32 continues to a step 1108 at which the individual encryptionkey is input.

The flow of the program then continues to a step 1109 at which theencrypted data key produced at the step 1107 is re-encrypted by usingthe individual encryption key input at the step 1108 to generate adouble encrypted data key.

Then, the flow of the program 32 goes on to a step 1110 at which aheader is added to the head portion of the temporary file created at thestep 1104. Subsequently, the flow of the program proceeds to a step 1111at which information specifying the allowed file decryption date andtime input at the step 1102, the file name input at the step 1101, thesize of a file identified by this file name and the double encrypteddata key generated at the step 1109 is written into the header added tothe head portion of the temporary file in the order they are enumerated.

The flow of the program 32 then continues to a step 1112 at which datais read out from the original text file opened at the step 1103. Then,the flow of the program 32 goes on to a step 1113 at which encrypteddata is generated by encryption of the data read out at the step 1112using the double encrypted data key generated at the step 1109.Subsequently, the flow of the program 32 proceeds to a step 1114 atwhich the encrypted data is written into the temporary file created atthe step 1104.

The flow of the program 32 then continues to a step 1115 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the encryption of all the data of theoriginal text file opened at the step 1103 has been completed. If theencryption has not been completed yet, the flow of the program 32returns to the step 1112 to repeat the pieces of processing of the steps1112 to 1115 until the encryption is completed. As the encryption of allthe data of the original text file is found completed, the flow of theprogram 32 goes on to a step 1116 at which the original text file andthe temporary file are both closed.

Then, the flow of the program 32 proceeds to a step 1117 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the name of the original text file inputat the step 1101 is the same as the tentative name of the temporary filecreated at the step 1104. If the name of the original text file is thesame as the tentative name of the temporary file, the flow of theprogram 32 continues to a step 1118 at which the original text file isdeleted. The flow of the program 32 then goes on to a step 1119 at whichthe tentative name of the temporary file created at the step 1104 ischanged to the name of the original text file input at the step 1101.Finally, the processing of the program 32 is finished.

If the name of the original text file is not the same as the tentativename of the temporary file, on the other hand, the flow of the program32 continues directly to the step 1119 at which the tentative name ofthe temporary file created at the step 1104 is changed to the name ofthe original text file input at the step 1101. Finally, the processingof the program 32 is finished.

The information transmitting apparatus 60 is capable of transmitting anencrypted text file created as described above to a desired informationreceiving apparatus 70 by way of the communication network 90. Thefollowing is description of operations which are carried out in theinformation transmitting apparatus 60 when the CPU 1 b executes theencryption key acquiring program 31 loaded into the memory unit 2 b.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the information transmitting apparatus 60 when theCPU 1 b executes the encryption key acquiring program 31 loaded into thememory unit 2 b. It should be noted that the encryption key acquiringprogram 31 is executed at the step 1106 of the flowchart of FIG. 10representing the file encrypting program 32.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the flowchart begins with a step 1301 atwhich communication between the information transmitting apparatus 60and the key controlling apparatus 50 through the communication network90 is established.

The flow of the program 31 then goes on to a step 1302 at whichinformation identifying the allowed decryption date and time input atthe step 1102 of the file encrypting program 32 shown in FIG. 10 istransmitted to the key controlling apparatus 50 by way of thecommunication network 90. Receiving the information on the alloweddecryption date and time from the information transmitting apparatus 60,the key controlling apparatus 50 executes the encryption key serviceprogram 22 to search the key control table 100 for an encryption keyassociated with the allowed decryption date and time. The keycontrolling apparatus 50 then transmits the encryption key to theinformation transmitting apparatus 60 that transmitted the informationidentifying the allowed decryption date and time input.

At a step 1303 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 11, the encryptionkey from the key controlling apparatus 50 associated with the alloweddecryption date and time transmitted to the key controlling apparatus 50at the step 1302 is received by the information transmitting apparatus60. The flow of the program 31 then goes on to a step 1304 at which thecommunication with the key controlling apparatus 50 is discontinued.Then, the flow of the program 31 proceeds to a step 1305 at which theencryption key received at the step 1303 is set as a return value to bepassed to the file encrypting program 32 before ending this routine.

Next, the information receiving apparatus 70 is described in detail. Thedescription begins with explanation of operations which are carried outin the information receiving apparatus 70 when the CPU 1 c executes thefile decrypting program 42 loaded into the memory unit 2 c.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the information receiving apparatus 70 when the CPU 1c executes the file decrypting program loaded into the memory unit 2 c.First of all, equipment such as a display unit not shown in the figuresis used for displaying a message to urge the user of the informationreceiving apparatus 70 that the user enter the name of an encrypted textfile to be decrypted among encrypted text files received from theinformation transmitting apparatus 60. The name of an encrypted textfile entered by the user via an input unit also not illustrated in FIG.12 in response to the message is input at a step 1201.

The flow of the program 42 then goes on to a step 1202 at which anencrypted text file identified by the name input at the step 1201 isopened. Then, the flow of the program 42 proceeds to a step 1203 atwhich a double encrypted data key is fetched from the header of theencrypted text file opened at the step 1202. Subsequently, equipmentsuch as the display unit not illustrated in the figures is used fordisplaying a message to urge the user of the information receivingapparatus 70 that the user enter an individual encryption key to be usedfor decrypting the double encrypted data key fetched at the step 1203.An individual encryption key entered by the user via the input unit alsonot illustrated in the figure in response to the message is input at astep 1204.

The user of the information receiving apparatus 70 is assumed to havebeen informed of the individual encryption key by the sender of theencrypted text file in advance.

The flow of the program 42 then continues to a step 1205 at which thedouble encrypted data key fetched at the step 1203 is decrypted by theindividual encryption key input at the step 1204, being converted into asingle encrypted data key. Then, the flow of the program 42 goes on to astep 1206 at which information on an allowed decryption date and time isfetched from the header of the encrypted text file opened at the step1202. Subsequently, the flow of the program 42 proceeds to a step 1207at which the decryption key acquiring program 41 is called, and theallowed decryption date and time indicated by the information fetched atthe step 1207 is passed to the decryption key acquiring program 41 as aparameter. The decryption key acquiring program 41 acquires a decryptionkey associated with the allowed decryption date and time from the keycontrolling apparatus 50.

The flow of the program 42 then continues to a step 1208 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the decryption key acquiring program 41has acquired a decryption key associated with the allowed decryptiondate and key successfully at the step 1207 by referring to a valuereturned by the decryption key acquiring program 41. If the decryptionkey acquiring program 41 did not acquire a decryption key associatedwith the allowed decryption date and key successfully, the flow of theprogram 42 goes on to a step 1289 at which the encrypted text fileopened as the step 1202 is closed before the processing of the program42 is ended.

If the decryption key acquiring program 41 has acquired a decryption keyassociated with the allowed decryption date and key successfully, on theother hand, the flow of the program 42 goes on to a step 1209.

At the step 1209, the single encrypted data key produced at the step1205 is further decrypted by using the decryption key acquired at thestep 1207 to produce a data key used in the encryption of the encryptedtext file.

Then, the flow of the program goes on to a step 1210 at which atemporary file with a tentative name is created. Subsequently, the flowof the program 42 continues to a step 1211 at which data is read outfrom the encrypted text file opened at the step 1202. Then, the flow ofthe program 42 goes on to a step 1212 at which original text data isgenerated by decryption of the data read out at the step 1211 using theencrypted data key generated at the step 1209. Subsequently, the flow ofthe program 42 proceeds to a step 1213 at which the original text dataproduced at the step 1212 is written into the temporary file created atthe step 1210.

The flow of the program 42 then continues to a step 1214 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the decryption of all the data of theencrypted text file opened at the step 1202 has been completed. If thedecryption has not been completed yet, the flow of the program 42returns to the step 1211 to repeat the pieces of processing of the steps1211 to 1213 until the decryption of all the data is completed. As thedecryption of all the data of the original text file is found completed,the flow of the program 42 goes on to a step 1215 at which the encryptedtext file and the temporary file are both closed.

Then, the flow of the program 42 proceeds to a step 1216 to form ajudgment as to whether or not the name of the encrypted text file inputat the step 1201 is the same as the tentative name of the temporary filecreated at the step 1210. If the name of the encrypted text file is thesame as the tentative name of the temporary file, the flow of theprogram 42 continues to a step 1217 at which the encrypted text file isdeleted. The flow of the program 42 then goes on to a step 1218 at whichthe tentative name of the temporary file created at the step 1210 ischanged to the name of the encrypted text file input at the step 1201.Finally, the processing of the program 42 is finished.

If the name of the encrypted text file is not the same as the tentativename of the temporary file, on the other hand, the flow of the program42 continues directly to the step 1218 at which the tentative name ofthe temporary file created at the step 1210 is changed to the name ofthe encrypted text file input at the step 1201. Finally, the processingof the program 42 is finished.

The following is a description of operations which are carried out inthe information receiving apparatus 70 when the CPU 1 c executes thedecryption key acquiring program 41 loaded into the memory unit 2 c.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart used for explaining the operations whichare carried out in the information receiving apparatus 70 when the CPU 1c executes the decryption key acquiring program 41 loaded into thememory unit 2 c. It should be noted that the decryption key acquiringprogram 41 is executed at the step 1207 of the flowchart of FIG. 12representing the file decrypting program 42.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the program 41 begins with a step 1401 atwhich the present date and time is acquired by using a function of theOS 20 c. Then, the flow of the program 41 goes on to a step 1402 atwhich the present date and time acquired at the step 1401 is comparedwith the allowed decryption date and time received as a parameter fromthe calling file decrypting program 42. If the result of the comparisonindicates that the present date and time is coincident with or laterthan the allowed decryption date and time, the flow of the program 41goes on to a step 1406. If the present date and time precedes theallowed decryption date and time, on the other hand, the flow of theprogram 41 goes on to a step 1403.

At the step 1403, equipment such as the display unit not shown in thefigures is used for illustrating the user of the information receivingunit 70 an inquiry as to whether or not the user is willing to waituntil the present date and time becomes coincident with the alloweddecryption date and time. Then, the program 41 waits for the user toenter an instruction via an input unit also not illustrates in thefigure in response to the inquiry.

If the instruction entered by the user indicates that the user is notwilling to wait until the present date and time becomes coincident withthe allowed decryption date and time, the flow of the program 41 goes onto a step 1489 at which an error code is set as a return value beforefinishing the processing of the program 41.

If the instruction entered by the user indicates that the user iswilling to wait until the present date and time becomes coincident withthe allowed decryption date and time, on the other hand, the flow of theprogram 41 goes on to a step 1404 at which the present date and time isacquired by using the function of the OS 20 c. Then, the flow of theprogram 41 goes on to a step 1405 at which the present date and timeacquired at the step 1404 is compared with the allowed decryption dateand time received as a parameter from the calling file decryptingprogram 42. If the result of the comparison indicates that the presentdate and time is coincident with or later than the allowed decryptiondate and time, the flow of the program 41 goes on to the step 1406. Ifthe present date and time still precedes the allowed decryption date andtime, on the other hand, the flow of the program 41 returns to the step1404 to repeat the pieces of processing of the steps 1404 and 1405 untilthe present date and time becomes coincident with or later than theallowed decryption date and time.

At the step 1406, decryption keys disclosed and distributed by the keycontrolling apparatus 50 through the communication network 90 arereceived. The flow of the program 41 then goes on to a step 1407 to forma judgment as to whether or not the decryption keys received at the step1406 include one associated with the allowed decryption data and timepassed to the program 41 by the calling file decrypting program 42 as aparameter. The judgment is based on information on a date and timeappended to each of the decryption keys.

If the decryption keys received at the step 1406 include one associatedwith the allowed decryption data and time passed to the program 41 bythe calling file decrypting program 42 as a parameter, the flow of theprogram 41 goes on to a step 1479 at which the decryption key associatedwith the allowed decryption data and time is set as a return valuebefore ending the processing of the program 41. If the decryption keysreceived at the step 1406 do not include one associated with the alloweddecryption data and time, on the other hand, the flow of the program 41goes on to a step 1408.

At the step 1408, communication between the information receivingapparatus 70 and the key controlling apparatus 50 through thecommunication network 90 is established.

The flow of the program 41 then goes on to a step 1409 at whichinformation identifying the allowed decryption data and time passed tothe program 41 by the calling file decrypting program 42 as a parameteris transmitted to the key controlling apparatus 50. Receiving theinformation on the allowed decryption date and time from the informationreceiving apparatus 70, the key controlling apparatus 50 executes thedecryption key service program 23 to search the key control table 100for a decryption key associated with the allowed decryption date andtime. The key controlling apparatus 50 then transmits the decryption keyto the information receiving apparatus 70 that transmitted theinformation identifying the allowed decryption date and time.

At a step 1410 of the flowchart illustrates in FIG. 13, the decryptionkey from the key controlling apparatus 50 associated with the alloweddecryption date and time transmitted to the key controlling apparatus 50is received by the information receiving apparatus 70. The flow of theprogram 41 then goes on to a step 1411 at which the communication withthe key controlling apparatus 50 is discontinued. Then, the flow of theprogram 41 proceeds to a step 1412 at which a result of receiving thedecryption key is examined to form a judgment as to whether or not thedecryption key has been received without an error.

If the outcome of the judgment indicates that the decryption key hasbeen received without an error, the flow of the program 41 goes on tothe step 1479 at which the decryption key associated with the alloweddecryption data and time is set as a return value before ending theprocessing of the program 41. If the outcome of the judgment suggeststhat there is an error indicating that the operation to acquire thedecryption key has ended in a failure, the flow of the program 41 goeson to the step 1489 at which an error code is set as a return valuebefore finishing the processing of the program 41.

In the key controlling system implemented by the embodiment describedabove, the user of the information transmitting apparatus 60 is capableof encrypting information produced thereby and distributing theencrypted information to information users prior to a date and time atwhich the secrecy protection of the data is ended. As a result, it is nolonger necessary for the information producer to control the date andtime at which the produced information is disclosed.

In addition, it is not until a date or a date and time at which secrecyprotection of encrypted information received by the user of theinformation receiving apparatus 70 is ended that the user of theinformation receiving apparatus 70 is allowed to acquire a decryptionkey for decrypting the encrypted information. As a result, the encryptedinformation can be kept secret until the date or the date and time atwhich the secrecy protection of the encrypted information is ended.

Furthermore, since the user of the information receiving apparatus 70 isallowed to acquire a decryption key for decrypting encrypted informationafter a date and time at which secrecy protection of the encryptedinformation received by the user of the information receiving apparatus70 is ended, the user of the information receiving apparatus 70 iscapable of decrypting the encrypted information received in advance byusing the decryption key. As a result, if there are a plurality ofinformation receiving apparatuses 70, disclosure of encryptedinformation at the same time can be assured.

As described above, in the present embodiment, decryption keys aredisclosed by simultaneous broadcasting communication using a singlechannel as illustrates in FIG. 8. It should be noted, however, that thedescription is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Thatis, the scope of the present invention is not limited to such aconfiguration. For example, decryption keys can be disclosed by using aplurality of channels as illustrates in FIG. 14. In this case, theperiod of the disclosure (that is, the simultaneous broadcastingcommunication) of a decryption key can be lengthened. As a result, theinformation receiving apparatus 70 is capable of acquiring a decryptionkey for an allowed decryption date and time without the need to make anaccess to the key controlling apparatus 50 even after some time haslapsed since the coincidence of the present date and time with theallowed decryption date and time.

In addition, in the present embodiment described above, the keycontrolling apparatus 50 transmits a decryption key to informationreceiving apparatuses 70 at the same time by way of the communicationnetwork 90 as a broadcast packet or a multi-cast packet. As analternative, the decryption key may be disclosed to informationreceiving apparatuses 70 by adopting a radio broadcasting method such asthe satellite system illustrates in FIG. 15. By adopting a radiobroadcasting method such as the satellite system, a decryption key canbe distributed to all of a plurality of information receivingapparatuses 70 at the same time.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment described above, a data key isencrypted by using an individual encryption key. It should be noted,however, that the description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. That is, the scope of the present invention is notlimited to such a scheme. An encryption key and a decryption keyacquired from the key controlling apparatus 50 can be used directly forencrypting and decrypting data respectively. In this case, however, itis necessary to take the utmost care of the fact that pieces ofencrypted data having the same allowed decryption date and time can bedecrypted by using a decryption key for the allowed decryption date andtime.

In addition, in the present embodiment described above, informationencrypted at the information transmitting apparatus 60 is transmitted tothe information receiving apparatus 70 by way of the communicationnetwork 90. It is worth noting, however, that the description is notintended to be construed in a limiting sense. That is, the scope of thepresent invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example,encrypted information can be distributed by means of recording mediasuch as a floppy disc and a CD-ROM used for recording the informationwithout the use of the communication network 90. Furthermore, in thepresent embodiment described above, one unit of key controllingapparatus 50 is used for controlling encryption and decryption keys andfor rendering services related to encryption and decryption keys. Forexample, a plurality of information processing apparatuses can also beused for controlling encryption and decryption keys and for renderingservices related to the encryption and decryption keys.

In addition, in the present embodiment described above, a variety ofprograms executed by the apparatuses composing the key controllingsystem are stored in magnetic discs. It is worth noting, however, thatthe description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense.That is, the scope of the present invention is not limited to such ascheme. For example, the programs can also be stored in optical discssuch as CD-ROMs or other recording media.

As described above, the present invention provides a good keycontrolling system for implementing simultaneous disclosure ofinformation to a plurality of users.

While the present invention has been described in detail and pictoriallyin the accompanying drawings, it is not limited to such details sincemany changes and modification recognizable to these of ordinary skill inthe art may be made to the invention without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would beobvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within thescope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A key managing system comprising: an informationdecrypting apparatus for decrypting information by using a decryptionkey; a key controlling apparatus for controlling publicity of saiddecryption key for decrypting information in said information decryptingapparatus; and a communication network coupled to said informationdecrypting apparatus and said key controlling apparatus, wherein saidkey controlling apparatus comprises: a key storage for storingdecryption keys, a key control table storage for storing a key controltable indicating disclosure times of said decryption keys respectively,a key searching apparatus for searching said key control table stored insaid key control table storage for a decryption key that can bedisclosed according to a current time, and decryption key disclosingmeans for disclosing said decryption key that can be disclosed via saidnetwork to enable said information decrypting apparatus to acquire saiddecryption key wherein said information decrypting apparatus comprises:encrypted information acquiring means for acquiring encryptedinformation formed by an information encrypting apparatus, decryptionkey acquiring means for acquiring, subsequent to acquiring saidencrypted information, said disclosed decryption key via said networkreferring to a disclosure time included in said encrypted informationthat has been acquired by said encrypted information acquiring means,and information decrypting means for decrypting encrypted data includedin said encrypted information that has been acquired by using saidacquired decryption key.
 2. A key managing system according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of said information decrypting apparatuses areincluded in said key managing system; wherein said informationdecrypting apparatuses are all connected to said key controllingapparatus by said communication network; and wherein said decryption keydisclosing means, included in said key controlling apparatus,distributes any of said decryption keys to said information decryptingapparatuses by simultaneously broadcasting through said communicationnetwork a broadcast packet or a multi-cast packet to said informationdecrypting apparatuses.
 3. A key managing system according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of said information decrypting apparatuses areincluded in said key managing system; and wherein said decryption keydisclosing means, included in said key controlling apparatus, disclosesany of said decryption keys to said information decrypting apparatusesby radio broadcasting.
 4. A key managing system according to claim 1,wherein said key controlling apparatus further comprises: key generatingmeans which is used for generating a new pair of encryption anddecryption keys when a decryption key corresponding to a disclosure timespecified by said information encrypting apparatus is not found in saidkey control table stored in said key control table storage; and acontrol table creating means for adding said new pair of encryption anddecryption keys generated by said key generating means and saiddisclosure time specified by said information encrypting apparatus, forwhich said new pair of encryption and decryption keys is generated bysaid key generating means, to said key control table.
 5. A key managingsystem according to claim 2, wherein said key controlling apparatusfurther comprises: key generating means which is used for generating anew pair of encryption and decryption keys when a decryption keycorresponding to a disclosure time specified by said informationencrypting apparatus is not found in said key control table stored insaid key control table storage; and a control table creating means foradding said new pair of encryption and decryption keys generated by saidkey generating means and said disclosure time specified by saidinformation encrypting apparatus, for which said new pair of encryptionand decryption keys is generated by said key generating means, to saidkey control table.
 6. A key managing system according to claim 3,wherein said key controlling apparatus further comprises: a keygenerating means which is used for generating a new pair of encryptionand decryption keys when a decryption key corresponding to a disclosuretime specified by said information encrypting apparatus is not found insaid key control table stored in said key control table storage; and acontrol table creating means for adding said new pair of encryption anddecryption keys generated by said key generating means and saiddisclosure time specified by said information encrypting apparatus, forwhich said new pair of encryption and decryption keys is generated bysaid key generating means, to said key control table.
 7. A key managingsystem according to claim 1, wherein said data encrypting means encryptsdata to be transmitted by using a data key to produce encrypted dataand, at the same time, double-encrypts said data key by using anindividual encryption key entered by an operator and one of saidencryption keys acquired by said encryption key acquiring means toproduce a double encrypted data key; wherein said encrypted informationforming means forms encrypted information to be transmitted to saidinformation decrypting apparatus by adding information on a time, atwhich said encrypted data produced by said data encrypting means is tobe decrypted, and said double encrypted data key produced by said dataencrypting means to said encrypted data; and wherein said informationdecrypting means decrypts said double encrypted data key included insaid encrypted information acquired by said encrypted informationacquiring means by using an individual encryption key entered by anoperator and one of said decryption keys acquired by said decryption keyacquiring means to produce a data key and, at the same time, decryptssaid encrypted data included in said encrypted information by using saiddata key.
 8. A key managing system according to claim 2, wherein saiddata encrypting means encrypts data to be transmitted by using a datakey to produce encrypted data and, at the same time, double-encryptssaid data key by using an individual encryption key entered by anoperator and one of said encryption keys acquired by said encryption keyacquiring means to produce a double encrypted data key; wherein saidencrypted information forming means forms encrypted information to betransmitted to said information decrypting apparatus by addinginformation on a time, at which said encrypted data produced by saiddata encrypting means is to be decrypted, and said double encrypted datakey produced by said data encrypting means to said encrypted data; andwherein said information decrypting means decrypts said double encrypteddata key included in said encrypted information acquired by saidencrypted information acquiring means by using an individual encryptionkey entered by an operator and one of said decryption keys acquired bysaid decryption key acquiring means to produce a data key and, at thesame time, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 9. A key managing system accordingto claim 3, wherein said data encrypting means encrypts data to betransmitted by using a data key to produce encrypted data and, at thesame time, double-encrypts said data key by using an individualencryption key entered by an operator and one of said encryption keysacquired by said encryption key acquiring means to produce a doubleencrypted data key; wherein said encrypted information forming meansforms encrypted information to be transmitted to said informationdecrypting apparatus by adding information on a time, at which saidencrypted data produced by said data encrypting means is to bedecrypted, and said double encrypted data key produced by said dataencrypting means to said encrypted data; and wherein said informationdecrypting means decrypts said double encrypted data key included insaid encrypted information acquired by said encrypted informationacquiring means by using an individual encryption key entered by anoperator and one of said decryption keys acquired by said decryption keyacquiring means to produce a data key and, at the same time, decryptssaid encrypted data included in said encrypted information by using saiddata key.
 10. A key managing system according to claim 4, wherein saiddata encrypting means encrypts data to be transmitted by using a datakey to produce encrypted data and, at the same time, double-encryptssaid data key by using an individual encryption key entered by anoperator and one of said encryption keys acquired by said encryption keyacquiring means to produce a double encrypted data key; wherein saidencrypted information forming means forms encrypted information to betransmitted to said information decrypting apparatus by addinginformation on a time, at which said encrypted data produced by saiddata encrypting means is to be decrypted, and said double encrypted datakey produced by said data encrypting means to said encrypted data; andwherein said information decrypting means decrypts said double encrypteddata key included in said encrypted information acquired by saidencrypted information acquiring means by using an individual encryptionkey entered by an operator and one of said decryption keys acquired bysaid decryption key acquiring means to produce a data key and, at thesame time, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 11. A key managing system accordingto claim 1, wherein said information encrypting apparatus and saidinformation decrypting apparatus are connected to each other by saidcommunication network; and wherein said information encrypting apparatusfurther comprises: an encrypted information transmitting means fortransmitting encrypted information formed by said encrypted informationforming means to said information decrypting means by said communicationnetwork.
 12. A key controlling apparatus for controlling publicity ofencryption and decryption keys used for encrypting and decryptinginformation respectively, said key controlling apparatus comprising: akey storage for storing at least a pair of said encryption anddecryption keys for encrypting and decrypting information respectively;a key control table storage for storing a key control table indicating arelation between said decryption keys stored in said key storage anddisclosure times of said decryption keys; a key searching means forsearching said key control table stored in said key control tablestorage for a decryption key that can be disclosed at a current timespecified by an information encrypting apparatus for encryptinginformation and an encryption key forming a pair corresponding to saiddecryption key; an encryption key transmitting means for transmitting anencryption key resulting from the search performed by said key searchingmeans to said information encrypting apparatus; and a decryption keydisclosing means for disclosing a decryption key, that can be disclosedat the current time according to said relation shown by said key controltable stored in said key control table storage, to at least one of aplurality of information decrypting apparatuses each for decryptinginformation to permit said at least one information decrypting apparatusto decrypt encrypted data included in encrypted information having beenpreviously acquired by said information decrypting apparatus, whereinsaid encrypted data is decrypted using said decryption key acquired at adisclosure time included in said encrypted information.
 13. Aninformation encrypting apparatus for encrypting information, comprising:encryption key acquiring means for acquiring an encryption key from akey controlling apparatus for controlling publicity of encryption anddecryption keys by transmitting a time, at which secrecy protection ofdata to be encrypted will be ended, to said key controlling apparatuswherein said encryption key forms a pair corresponding to one of saiddecryption keys to be disclosed at a disclosure time in said keycontrolling apparatus; data encrypting means for encrypting data byusing said encryption key acquired by said encryption key acquiringmeans; and encrypted information forming means for forming encryptedinformation to be transmitted to an information decrypting apparatus fordecrypting information by adding data representing the time, at whichsecrecy protection of said encrypted data is to be ended, to said dataencrypted by said data encrypting means.
 14. An information decryptingapparatus for decrypting encrypted data produced by an informationencrypting apparatus, comprising: time extracting means for extractingdata representing a time, at which secrecy protection of said encrypteddata produced by said information encrypting apparatus is to be ended,from encrypted information formed by said information encryptingapparatus; decryption key acquiring means which is used for acquiring adecryption key disclosed by a key controlling apparatus as a currenttime becomes coincident with a disclosure time indicated by said datarepresenting a disclosure time extracted by said time extracting means;and information decrypting means for decrypting said encrypted dataproduced by said information encrypting apparatus using said decryptionkey acquired by said decryption key acquiring means.
 15. A recordingmedium for storing a program for managing encryption and decryption keysused for encrypting and decrypting information respectively, saidprogram when executed in an information processing apparatus causes saidinformation processing apparatus to perform the steps of: storing atleast a pair of encryption and decryption keys corresponding to a timeat which said decryption key in said pair is disclosed in a key controltable storage unit as a key control table; searching said key controltable stored in said key control table storage unit for a decryption keycorresponding to a disclosure time specified by an informationencrypting apparatus for encrypting information and an encryption keyforming a pair corresponding to said decryption key; transmitting anencryption key resulting from the search performed by the searching stepto said information encrypting apparatus; and disclosing a decryptionkey corresponding to a current time according to said key control tablestored in said key control table storage unit to at least one of aplurality of information decrypting apparatuses each for decryptinginformation; wherein encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation is decrypted using said decryption key acquired at saiddisclosure time included in said encrypted information.
 16. A recordingmedium for storing a program for encrypting information, wherein saidprogram when executed in an information processing apparatus causes saidinformation processing apparatus to perform the steps of: acquiring anencryption key from a key controlling apparatus for controllingencryption and decryption keys by transmitting a time at which secrecyprotection of data to be encrypted will be ended, to said keycontrolling apparatus wherein said encryption key forms a paircorresponding to a decryption key to be disclosed at a disclosure timein said key controlling apparatus; encrypting data by using saidencryption key acquired in said acquiring step; and forming encryptedinformation to be transmitted to an information decrypting apparatus fordecrypting information by adding data representing a time, at whichsecrecy protection of said encrypted data is to be ended, to said dataencrypted in said encrypting step.
 17. A recording medium for storing afirst program for decrypting information, wherein said first programwhen executed by a first information processing apparatus causes saidfirst information processing apparatus to perform the steps of:extracting data representing a time, at which secrecy protection ofencrypted data produced by a second information processing apparatusexecuting a second program for encrypting information is to be ended,from encrypted information formed by said second information processingapparatus executing said second program; acquiring a decryption keydisclosed by a third information processing apparatus executing a thirdprogram for disclosing decryption keys as a current time becomescoincident with a disclosure time indicated by data representing adisclosure date extracted in said extracting step; and decrypting saidencrypted data produced by said second information processing apparatusexecuting said second program by using said decryption key acquired insaid acquiring step.
 18. A key managing system comprising: aninformation encrypting apparatus for encrypting information by usingencryption keys; an information decrypting apparatus for decryptinginformation by using decryption keys; a key controlling apparatus forcontrolling said encryption keys and said decryption keys used in saidinformation encrypting apparatus and said information decryptingapparatus respectively; and a communication network connected at leastbetween said information encrypting apparatus and said key controllingapparatus, wherein said key controlling apparatus stores at least a pairof said encryption and decryption keys and a key control tableindicating a relation between said decryption keys and disclosure timesof said decryption keys transmits an encryption key, in response to arequest for a decryption key corresponding to a disclosure time, to saidinformation encrypting apparatus through said communication network, anddiscloses a decryption key corresponding to a current time according tothe relation indicated by said key control table; wherein saidinformation encrypting apparatus encrypts data using said encryption keyfrom said key controlling apparatus and forms encrypted information tobe transmitted to said information decrypting apparatus by adding datarepresenting a time at which secrecy protection of said encrypted datais to be ended, to said encrypted data; and wherein said informationdecrypting apparatus receives said encrypted information formed by saidinformation encrypting apparatus, acquires a decryption key disclosed bysaid key controlling apparatus at a disclosure time indicated by thedata representing a disclosure time included in said encryptedinformation and decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation using said decryption key.
 19. A key managing systemaccording to claim 18, wherein a plurality of said informationdecrypting apparatuses are included in said key managing system; whereinsaid information decrypting apparatuses are all connected to said keycontrolling apparatus by said communication network; and wherein saidkey controlling apparatus, distributes any of said decryption keys tosaid information decrypting apparatuses by simultaneously broadcastingthough said communication network a broadcast packet or a multi-castpacket.
 20. A key managing system according to claim 13, wherein aplurality of said information decrypting apparatuses are included insaid key managing system; and wherein said key controlling apparatus,discloses any of said decryption keys to said information decryptingapparatuses by radio broadcasting.
 21. A key managing system accordingto claim 18, wherein said key-controlling apparatus comprises: keygenerating means which is used for generating a new pair of encryptionand decryption keys when a decryption key corresponding to a disclosuretime specified by said information encrypting apparatus is not found insaid key control table; and a control table creating means for addingsaid new pair of encryption and decryption keys generated by said keygenerating means and said disclosure time specified by said informationencrypting apparatus, for which said new pair of encryption anddecryption keys is generated by said key generating means, to said keycontrol table.
 22. A key managing system according to claim 19, whereinsaid key controlling apparatus comprises: key generating means which isused for generating a new pair of encryption and decryption keys when adecryption key corresponding to a disclosure time specified by saidinformation encrypting apparatus is not found in said key control table;and a control table creating means for adding said new pair ofencryption and decryption keys generated by said key generating meansand said disclosure time specified by said information encryptingapparatus, for which said new pair of encryption and decryption keys isgenerated by said key generating means, to said key control table.
 23. Akey managing system according to claim 20, wherein said key controllingapparatus comprises: a key generating means which is used for generatinga new pair of encryption and decryption keys when a decryption keycorresponding to a disclosure time specified by said informationencrypting apparatus is not found in said key control table; and acontrol table creating means for adding said new pair of encryption anddecryption keys generated by said key generating means and saiddisclosure time specified by said information encrypting apparatus, forwhich said new pair of encryption and decryption keys is generated bysaid key generating means, to said key control table.
 24. A key managingsystem according to claim 18, wherein said information encryptingapparatus encrypts data to be transmitted by using a data key to produceencrypted data and, at the same time, double-encrypts said data key byusing an individual encryption key entered by an operator and anencryption key from said key controlling apparatus to produce a doubleencrypted data key; wherein said information encrypting apparatus formsencrypted information to be transmitted to said information decryptingapparatus by adding information on a time, at which said encrypted dataproduced by said information encrypting apparatus is to be decrypted,and said double encrypted data key to said encrypted data; and whereinsaid information decrypting means decrypts said double encrypted datakey included in said encrypted information by using an individualencryption key entered by an operator and said decryption key and, atthe same time, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 25. A key managing system accordingto claim 19, wherein said information encrypting apparatus encrypts datato be transmitted by using a data key to produce encrypted data and, atthe same time, double-encrypts said data key by using an individualencryption key entered by an operator and an encryption key from saidkey controlling apparatuses to produce a double encrypted data key;wherein said information encrypting apparatus forms encryptedinformation to be transmitted to said information decrypting apparatusby adding information on a time, at which said encrypted data producedby said information encrypting apparatus is to be decrypted, and saiddouble encrypted data key to said encrypted data; and wherein saidinformation decrypting means decrypts said double encrypted data keyincluded in said encrypted information by using an individual encryptionkey entered by an operator and said decryption key and, at the sametime, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 26. A key managing system accordingto claim 20, wherein said information encrypting apparatus encrypts datato be transmitted by using a data key to produce encrypted data and, atthe same time, double-encrypts said data key by using an individualencryption key entered by an operator and an encryption key from saidkey controlling apparatuses to produce a double encrypted data key;wherein said information encrypting apparatus forms encryptedinformation to be transmitted to said information decrypting apparatusby adding information on a time, at which said encrypted data producedby said information encrypting apparatus is to be decrypted, and saiddouble encrypted data key to said encrypted data; and wherein saidinformation decrypting means decrypts said double encrypted data keyincluded in said encrypted information by using an individual encryptionkey entered by an operator and said decryption key and, at the sametime, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 27. A key managing system accordingto claim 21, wherein said information encrypting apparatus encrypts datato be transmitted by using a data key to produce encrypted data and, atthe same time, double-encrypts said data key by using an individualencryption key entered by an operator and an encryption key from saidkey controlling apparatuses to produce a double encrypted data key;wherein said information encrypting apparatus forms encryptedinformation to be transmitted to said information decrypting apparatusby adding information on a time, at which said encrypted data producedby said information encrypting apparatus is to be decrypted, and saiddouble encrypted data key to said encrypted data; and wherein saidinformation decrypting means decrypts said double encrypted data keyincluded in said encrypted information by using an individual encryptionkey entered by an operator and said decryption key and, at the sametime, decrypts said encrypted data included in said encryptedinformation by using said data key.
 28. A key managing system accordingto claim 18, wherein said information encrypting apparatus and saidinformation decrypting apparatus are connected to each other by saidcommunication network; and wherein said information encrypting apparatuscomprises: an encrypted information transmitting means for transmittingencrypted information to said information decrypting apparatus by saidcommunication network.
 29. A key managing system according to claim 1,further comprising: an information encrypting apparatus for encryptinginformation by using encryption keys; wherein said key controllingapparatus controls publicity of said encryption keys used in saidinformation encrypting apparatus; wherein said communication network iscoupled between said information decrypting apparatus, said informationencrypting apparatus and said key controlling apparatus; wherein saidkey storage stores at least a pair of said encryption and decryptionkeys; wherein said key controlling apparatus further comprises: anencryption key transmitting apparatus for transmitting an encryption keyresulting from the search performed by said key searching means to saidinformation encryption apparatus through said communication network;wherein said information encrypting apparatus comprising: timinginformation transmitting means for transmitting data representing a timeat which security protection data to be encrypted will be ended to saidkey controlling apparatus through said communication network; encryptingkey acquiring means for acquiring an encryption key which is transmittedby said key controlling apparatus through said communication network andforms a pair in conjunction with a decryption key associated with adisclosure time indicated by the data representing a disclosuretransmitted by said time information transmitting means, data encryptingmeans for encrypting data using said encryption key acquired by saidencryption key acquiring means, and encrypted information forming meansfor forming encrypted information to be transmitted to said informationdecryption apparatus by adding said data representing a time, at whichsecrecy protection of said encrypted data is to be ended, to said dataencrypted by said data encrypting means.